November 17, 2002

In the French village of Ars in the nineteenth century, a young man was knocked to the floor as he was making his confession. His confessor, Saint Jean-Marie Vianney, helped him up and said, “Do not be afraid, my son, it is only the Devil.”

The works of the Devil have been horrible, but he is only the Devil, and not God. Evil would give the impression that it is overwhelming and inevitable. That seemed to be the picture in our “culture of death” when abortion was perversely sanctioned by Roe v. Wade and public figures fell into politically correct line, one after another. However, the sacraments and the rosary do not fail. The struggle to protect life from the moment of conception to the last breath, against the threats of contraception, abortion, cloning, genetic manipulation, and euthanasia, still is an uphill one, but grace and action are having results.

The media have tended to downplay the pro-life factor in the recent elections, but the facts are inescapable: Two-thirds of the new representatives in Congress are pro-life and eight of the ten biggest Senate races were won by pro-lifers. By contrast, 17 of the 22 candidates most highly funded by the pro-abortion EMILY’s List failed. Exit polls indicated that the pro-life issue was a determining factor in races in Minnesota, Missouri, Georgia, Hawaii, and Nevada. The supporter of legalized suicide in Hawaii was defeated along with a bill for homosexual marriages in Nevada. Many states electing strong pro-life representatives reported an unusually high turnout of Catholic voters (e.g., 26% of all the voters in Florida).

Not all the results were favorable, and the election of a governor in Michigan who claims to be both Catholic and “pro-choice” is a sad commentary. New Yorkers are in a worse position. But the general results overwhelmed the most optimistic expectations, proving that the virtue of hope is more powerful than just an attitude of optimism. On the Sunday before the elections, Bishop Blaise of Rapid City, South Dakota, directly challenged Senator Daschle in a letter read in all his churches: “Catholic people are not single issue voters. We do care about the sick and the elderly, the homeless, the poor, education, security and world peace. But if the senator, as the leader of his party, wants to make abortion the single issue in this year’s election, then we are ready to let him and those who support him know this week and in the months and years to come where we stand.” The good bishop was saying what Saint Jean-Marie Vianney said: When we are shaken and terrible things happen, do not be afraid, because “It is only the Devil.”

Fr. George W. Rutler